Trains: Punctuality

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is completely right—the Northern conductors’ dispute started in 2019—actually, before 2019—but there was no obvious movement on it for many years prior to the accession to power of this Government. I am hopeful that there will be a resolution very shortly; it is a complex issue, but we are on the case. She is right that people in the north deserve better on Sundays and, indeed, on every other day of the week.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister share my concern that, in future, when a train is cancelled or severely delayed for over 30 minutes, it is the public purse that will reimburse people for those delays and cancellations? How is the department intending to budget for this, and from which budget does he intend to take that money?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I think that the noble Baroness will find that the public purse is recompensing that delay replay now. It is a good scheme to compensate people properly for significant delays, but the object, which I have been talking about in this Question, is to reduce the delays by better management of the railways. That is what is important here. It is not compensation that should count but running the railway properly.